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Magnificent Maps: Power, Propaganda and Art

Fri 30 Apr 2010 – Sun 19 Sep 2010
PACCAR Gallery, British Library

Magnificent Maps showcases the British Library’s unique collection of large-scale display maps, many of which have never been exhibited before, and demonstrates why maps are about far more than geography.

The exhibition will include large-scale, impressive maps from the 1400s to the present day, including the largest atlas in the world, the Klencke Atlas of 1660. It will suggest the settings in which they might originally have been seen – from the palace to the schoolroom and the home – reveal the themes that unite them, and highlight the sheer artistry that was involved in their production.

Magnificent Maps will also explore the reason behind the construction of these visually arresting works of art. Which range from maps used for indoctrination or expressions of local pride to irrefutable statements of power and illustrations of rulers’ spheres of influence.

The exhibition will be supported by a wide range of events, from talks and discussions to family events.